An MRI this morning confirmed that Rashard Mendenhall has a torn ACL and he will have surgery in coming weeks. Mendenhall’s rehab is expected to be a timeframe of at least 6-9 months with some injury experts predicting his rehab could take as long as 12 months. Mendenhall enters the 2012 season in the final year of his contract
Meanwhile, the Steelers dealing with a rash of injuries at the cornerback position, will sign veteran CB Anthony Madison, assuming Madison passes his physical. Madison, 30, a special team’s ace, was the Steelers no. 4 cornerback in the 2011 playoffs and has been a member of the Steelers off and on since the 2006 playoffs
From a health standpoint, the Steelers enter the playoffs with Ike Taylor, William Gay, Keenan Lewis and Bryant McFadden as their top-4 at the cornerback position after placing Curtis Brown on IR a few weeks ago and emerging rookie Cortez has a separated shoulder that could end his playoffs. To make matters worse, Keenan Lewis the team’s No. 3 CB suffered a hamstring injury against the Browns. For the first time since week 1, Bryant McFadden who opened the season as a starter but fell to No. 6 on the depth chart, was forced into the rotation against Cleveland and McFadden might be counted on to play a pivotal role
